The mission of the board is to work toward achieving a healthy air quality in the state. To do that, the Air resources Board, or ARB, conducts research and works in collaborative programs with both the public and business, including the logistics and transportation industry.
Poor air quality is one of the prime factors in overall pollution of ecological resources, Sanchez says. Three pieces of legislation are designed to enhance air quality, and owners and operators of transportation equipment need to be aware of them as they may impact their businesses considerably. They are the Heavy-Duty Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction regulation, the Transportation Refrigeration Unit regulation and the Truck and Bus regulation.
Transportation services brokers must stay on top of these rules as well since they are responsible for compliance of the covered vehicles, says Sanchez.
The so-called refrigeration rule has already gone into effect, but the other rules will be phased in over the next two years.
Anyone that does business in California must be in compliance regardless of where the vehicles they use are registered. That includes not only equipment registered in other states but vehicles entering from Mexico and Canada as well.
Complete information is available on the ARB web site, www.arb.ca.gov, on the regulations, the types of vehicles covered and when compliance kicks in. Additionally, there is information on air quality in general and on specific programs and initiatives that ARB is working on, Sanchez says.
Interested parties can also call 866-6-DIESEL toll-free to get more information on heavy-duty vehicles. Finally, a listserv is available that people can access if they want email alerts on ARB programs.
